Awakening
by Tohru and Rei
Summary: The truth comes out. CySkids; Cy's point of view. Rating for language.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: Boy Meets Boy property of K. Sandra Fuhr. Soley for entertainment purposes, not for profit. Warning: This is slash (boy on boy action) fiction. Some swearing involved.  
  
I sigh and stare into my plastic cup of beer. It's warm. I hate warm beer. I also hate the fact that the object of my affection is not in love with me. Then again, I suppose that's a good thing since I'm not supposed to love him. I'm the hetero one. It's supposed to be me and the hot chicas. Not me and Skids.  
Skids is in love with the 'bride' if you will, because face it, Harley is way more feminine than Mik is; plus he did wear white while Mik wore black. So yes, he's in love with Harley. Not me. I'm just a little bitter about this if you can't tell. Right now he's across the room chatting happily with Harley, completely ignoring me. Then again, I'm not really being social.  
"Torres." I look up to see Mik standing to my left.  
"I suppose I should be congratulating you, Rasputin," I grind out.  
"Well, don't feel obligated," he grinned.  
"Don't worry, I don't," I look back into my cup. "What do you want?"  
"See, I'm supposed to be the broody one around here and you're filling up my quota. It must be rectified."  
"Stop trying to be smart, Rasputin. What the hell do you want?" I growl.  
Mik opens his mouth to say something when Aurora turns on some slow dance music and announces that everyone should dance and that the new married couple must lead it. So everyone should join in. Exactly what I want to do. Mik thumps a hand on my shoulder.  
"You need to get out there and dance, Torres," His grin is now a Cheshire Cat-like smile.  
"Why?" I say, but he shoves me out toward the open space in the living room; in Skids' direction. Mik brushes past me on his way to sweep Harley out onto the floor. Random couples begin filling the floor around Mik and Harley.  
I allow Mik's push to carry me farther than it should have. I realize that I am now about four feet from where Skids is standing. I notice that he has not joined the dance and realize what Mik was getting at. My temper flares for an instant until my brain registers the amount of sadness that Skids is projecting as he stares at Harley and Mik. Telling myself that it is only to get that sad look off of his face, I take his hand and pull him to the dance floor. He looks surprised for a moment until a shy smile replaces it.  
After a couple awkward steps I realize that neither of us really knows how to dance with the other. "Skids, we're not going to get anywhere if both of us try to lead." I joke.  
Skids giggles. "But it's fun to try anyway."  
I grin and dip him. He squeaks in surprise and I take note of the fact that my beer cup has now been emptied onto the floor under Skids' back. I'd forgotten to put it down. Oh well. However a few people around us take notice and give us some odd glances. Skids realizes what I'd done and starts giggling harder.  
"It's a good thing you don't like warm beer, Cya," he says.  
I smile. "So true." I lift him out of the dip and lead him away from our mini scene. He's smiling now. So much better than the sad face.  
"Huh?" Skids is giving me an odd look. Oh dios mio. I'd said that out loud.  
"Well.well it's true!" I say forcefully and defensively. "I mean.no one should look as sad as you were looking."  
Skids blushes and looks away. "I didn't think anyone would notice."  
"Not all of us are oblivious, Skids," I say.  
We sway silently for a while and I notice his expression becoming progressively sad again. I glance over my shoulder and see that we've approached Mik and Harley. Shit. I've gotta distract him somehow. How to get that look off his face again? Maybe he'd like to go for some ice cream tonight.  
"Skids, how about some creamy goodness tonight?" I mentally slap myself. What the hell is that supposed to mean? Think of the connotations! No!! Don't think of the connotations! Bad!  
Skids does not pick up on my distress. He seems perfectly oblivious to the meaning of what I'd said.  
"Sure! I love ice cream!" Skids smiles.  
I return his smile shakily. I guess ice cream really does solve everything. "So when do you want to go?"  
"Now!" Skids says.  
"Now?" I question. "But the party isn't over yet." Then I realize that he only wants to be away from Harley and Mik. "Now is a great time. Why don't you go grab your coat and I'll tell them we're leaving?"  
Skids nods and goes for his jacket. I turn and see Mik and Harley behind me. I go up to them and explain that Skids wants some ice cream and I'm taking him. Mik grins devilishly at me and Harley smiles at me, holding my eyes for a moment longer than necessary. Damn. He knows too. I shoot a glare at Mik. I'll have to kill him later when there aren't so many witnesses. I turn then and head towards the door to their apartment. Skids is waiting for me. He slings an arm around me companionably. I let him lead me out the door and we walk down the hall like that for a ways.  
Then I realize that by now I would have shaken his arm away. I blush and decide not to deal with it until we reach the elevator. The elevator doors slide open and we step inside. His arm leaves my shoulders. I'm disappointed and elated at the same time. I hit the button for the first floor. It lurches into motion and we begin down. Then it lurches to a stop again. Oh fuck. The elevator cannot possibly be stuck. The power flickers and goes out. Thank god for the security lights. They only give us about a candle of light, but it is better than nothing.  
Skids squeaks and latches onto my arm. "What's going on, Cya? Why are we stopped?"  
I gently push Skids off my arm and begin smacking buttons on the panel. Nothing. I move to the door and bang my fist against it. Nothing. I scan my rectangle of hell. Tabitha, in her infinite evilness, has not equipped this place with an emergency phone. This is twice now that I've been stuck in this damn elevator. I clap my hands to my pockets for my cell phone. Shit. I'd left it on my bed at home today.  
"Well, Skids, looks like we're stuck here," I sigh heavily.  
"So.no ice cream?"  
I almost laugh. I can't believe he's still thinking about ice cream when we're stuck in an elevator with no communication. "No, no ice cream."  
"Oh." Skids looks sad again.  
I sit down in a corner of the elevator opposite to where Skids is standing. "Might as well make ourselves comfortable. We're probably not going to be moving any time soon."  
"Yeah," Skids says. And sits down right next to me, our shoulders brushing.  
I try to scoot away, but realize that I'd sat down in a corner. Damn.  
"I don't like the dark, Cya," Skids leans further into my shoulder. There's no choice for me but to put my arm around him and bring him closer. I had no choice because I could not stand to hear that soft, quivering voice and not do anything.  
"It's okay, Skids," I sigh. I turn my face to gently nuzzle his hair (no baseball cap for the ceremony, you know) and whisper. "I'm here."  
I feel Skids stiffen for an instant before relaxing again. "I know."  
We sit in almost awkward silence until he speaks again.  
"I know why you're doing this," he whispers softly.  
"Uh.you do?" I gulp.  
"Yeah. You always know exactly what I need," he continues. "Today's been really hard for me and you're the only one to have noticed."  
"Yeah.well, you know," I mumble.  
Skids continues as if I hadn't even opened my mouth. "Watching Harley today and seeing him so happy with Mik tore at me. I wanted to be the one making him that happy, but I know that I will never be that person. It makes me wonder if I will ever be able to make someone that happy."  
"You make me happy," I whisper unconsciously and hold him tighter.  
He still continues. "I've always been too late for everything. I was too late to save him from being hazed in high school, I was too late in asking him out, I was too late with Ronnie, and now I'm too late to ever have either of their hearts."  
"You have my heart, Corazón," I breathe.  
"I feel so alone. All the time. I live alone. You have your mom and your sisters, Harley has Mik and his family, and that leaves me all alone. I hate being alone. I just wish that just once I would love someone, they would love me back and we could have the happily ever after."  
"I could give you the happily ever after. I love you, querido," I murmur gently.  
"Did you just say you loved me?" 


	2. Chapter Two

"I could give you the happily ever after. I love you, querido," I murmur gently.  
"Did you just say you loved me?" Skids twists in my arms and looks up at me. Oh. Holy. Jesus. I did say that. I'm sure my face reflects the horror I'm feeling because he pulls away a bit. My eyes fall shut and I drop my head to hide from his gaze.  
"Yes. Yes I did."  
A gentle hand clasps my chin and lifts my head. I can't help but open my eyes to meet his. His face is about a foot from mine. He's so close. But his expression is intense.  
"Do you mean it?" He asks.  
I'm blushing furiously now. What the hell did he want me to say? Of course I mean it. All he has to do is look at me and he can see that I mean it. Why did he want me to say it? But he keeps waiting.  
"Yes," I say softly. I look at him for a reaction. He's lit up like a Christmas tree. The smile on his face just shines and his eyes glow.  
"I love you too, Cya," he says. My heart stops. He does? "You're just like a brother to me." Well, now my heart is no longer alive. I feel that I can't stop myself from saying that I really love him.  
"No, Skids," I tell him from still in his grasp. "I mean that I really love you. As in not just a friend or a brother."  
He looks confused for a second before he realizes what I mean. He frowns and the light dims. "But.you're the hetero one.I thought you liked girls."  
"Well, you do too," I point out.  
"But I love Harley." He says.  
"It doesn't matter how you feel, I just had to tell you," I say quietly.  
Skids lets go of my chin and doesn't say anything. Great. I knew this confession would fuck up our friendship. I should never have said anything. I couldn't stand the growing silence and stood up to pound on the door some more. The damn thing had to start moving sometime. If only I hadn't left my god damn cell phone at home. We might have already been rescued by now.  
But no. Instead, I had to sit in this fucking thing and spill my heart to the one person who could crush it. Now he knew everything and it had totally fucked up our friendship. He was probably never going to be able to look at me the same way again. My pounding grew incessantly louder and harder. I added some kicking and swearing into the mix as well. I went to the control panel again and smashed it with my fist, wincing as I broke plastic and some chunks sunk into my knuckles. But I was beyond caring. Perhaps a little physical pain might stop the emotional pain that was tearing me apart.  
I throw my shoulder into the door, attempting to jar it open. My shoulder is now in pain, but I try again. I hear my shoulder grind to a crunching sound. Now it's agony simply letting it hang let alone doing anything else with it. Why was I such an idiot?! My eyes water with the pain now, but I slam it into the door again.  
"Cy, stop!!" Skids shouts. I can barely hear him through the rage I'm feeling. I make to throw myself at the door again when a pair of strong arms wrap around me and pull me to the ground. "I said stop, Cya!" Skids says harshly in my ear.  
The pain my body and heart are feeling compounded with Skids holding me is too much and the tears that were welling earlier begin falling. I can't stop them and I begin to sob. I try to keep them silent and my body shakes from the effort. Skids tightens his arms around me, pulling me further into his embrace. I can't seem to stop crying, but Skids makes no move to let me go, so I just cry.  
Eventually, I have no more tears and I quiet. My breathing is still a bit ragged and my body trembles slightly. But I think it might be from the pain it's in. My shoulder is numb and blood is still oozing from my hand. But I can't bring myself to care.  
"Why were you doing that, Cya?" Skids whispers to me. He sounds really worried and confused.  
"Why do you think, Skids?" I say, deflated; there is no fight left in me.  
"Well, maybe, for some reason, you think that you telling me that was going to change something between us." Skids ventures. "But it hasn't."  
"But I wanted something to change between us, Skids. I wanted you to be more than a friend in my life." I say imploringly.  
Skids doesn't respond and I sink into silence as well. I don't think I could be any more heartbroken. I can practically see the pieces lying in shards at my side.  
"When you were venting on the elevator, I was thinking. I thought about the time before I said I was in love with Harley." I stiffen slightly in his arms. I do not want to talk about that. "I realized that before I found out that Harley had a crush on me in high school, I wasn't in love with him. I was in love with someone else."  
"I don't think I could handle hearing about anyone else." I mutter.  
"Just listen to me, Cya." Skids says. "Before, I was in love with you."  
My brain stops thinking. He couldn't have said that. He's just toying with me. He's already said that he loves me like a brother. How could there be anything other than that?  
"And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I never stopped." His voice trails into a small whisper.  
"Are you enjoying yourself?" I say bitterly. "I could just rip my heart out so you could destroy it that way. It would be a hell of a lot easier and hurt less."  
I feel Skids wince at my words. But I really don't care. It's the god damned truth.  
"I have not once lied to you, Cya," Skids says. "What makes you think I would start now?"  
"I bare my feelings to you." My indignation is growing and it starts to turn into anger again. "I lay them out before you and you say to my face that you're in love with Harley. Not five minutes later you're telling me that you're in love with me. Are your feelings that fickle? You can jump from one of us to another that quickly? I'm glad you shot me down now instead of tearing my heart out later."  
Skids says nothing. The silence stretches for a few moments until I feel something wet drop onto my shirt. Oh no way. Please. Skids can't be crying. It would break me even further. Especially with the knowledge that I am the one to have caused them. It was followed by another one.  
"I'm sorry," Skids whispers brokenly. "I understand how it would seem that way. I gave up hope that you would ever love me back because you kept saying that you were the 'hetero one.' Harley loves Mik and would never love me that way, and now you hate me. So I have no one anymore."  
Hate? I cringe. He thinks I hate him? No! That's wrong. Never hate. I could never hate him. Not after everything we've been through. Then the memories come. I remember when we first got to high school. He was afraid of the hazing and chose me to protect him. He saved me first when Harley and I got hazed. No matter what, he always comes over to my house to hang out. He only lets me draw his marker tattoos on him. All those other times he's done nothing special, but because he was with me, they were the best times of my life.  
I feel Skids begin crying harder. I can't stand it anymore and twist awkwardly in his arms to sling my good arm around him in a half-hug.  
"Sh. Don't cry. Please don't cry," I whisper to him. His arms tighten around me and he buries his face in my shoulder. I wince slightly because he's chosen my bad shoulder, but I say nothing about it. "I don't hate you. I'm sorry. I was just angry and didn't mean any of that. I love you."  
Skids cries harder now. Aw damn. I clasp him closer to me and rock him gently, a habit I picked up from comforting my sisters when they were young. His tears don't stop though.  
"Hush, sh.please." I plead quietly. I know he doesn't really hear me though. I wish he could. I turn my face and press a kiss into his hair. I continue holding him and let him cry.  
He starts to quiet down and I take the opportunity to lift his face from my shoulder and wipe his tear-stained cheeks with the back of my hand. His eyes widen as he sees it. Damn. I forgot about that. It was still bloody from when I punched the control panel of the elevator.  
"Cya.your hand." Skids says, wide-eyed.  
"Well, it doesn't hurt half as bad as my shoulder does." I try to say jovially.  
Skids gasps. "Oh no! Did you hurt it?"  
"Uh.it's probably just.dislocated," I mutter, trying not to sound as if it was a big deal.  
"But that's bad!" Skids says. "Which one is it?"  
"My left one," I say, ashamed.  
"We need to get you to a hospital!" Skids exclaims. "It needs to be fixed."  
"Skids, we're still stuck in the elevator," I point out. "We can't go anywhere."  
"You need to sit," Skids orders me. "Don't move. I'll get us out!"  
How was he going to do that? I wasn't able to do it. But I stay on the floor for him while he goes to the door of the elevator. He gives it a couple of good poundings before frowning at his fist.  
"That door's strong," he says. He looks over to me and sighs. He looks up to the ceiling and pauses. I follow his eyes and see the hatch for maintenance. "I could climb up the elevator shaft." Skids says as if he's forgotten I'm there with him.  
"No!" I shout. "That's dangerous. You might fall."  
"But we need to get you out of here, Cya," Skids says. "I don't know any other way."  
Before I could protest again, Skids takes a jump towards the ceiling. He knocks the hatch from its position and it moves away. He smiles victoriously and takes another jump. This time he grabs a hold of the edge and struggles to pull himself up and through the hole. I get up and, with my good arm, give his feet a push. He makes it through and looks back in at me.  
"I'll be back soon, Cya, I promise," He says.  
"Be careful," I call as he disappears. I hear the clanging of his shoes on the metal ladder as he climbs up the shaft. I sigh heavily and sit back down in a corner. His echoing steps fade away as he gets further up. I feel tired now. Really tired. My body hurts, my emotions have drained. And I have nothing to do until Skids gets back. It's so quiet in the car that I notice I'm dozing, but don't care enough to wake up. 


	3. Chapter Three

When the car lurches into motion, I am jarred from my sleep. For a moment I'm disoriented. I don't know where I am. Then I remember that I'm in an elevator. But it's moving now. How long was I out? I groggily stand up and wait for the movement to stop.  
It reaches the bottom floor and the doors slide open. Skids stands on the other side with Tabitha and Allen. Allen was looking quite satisfied with himself and Tabitha looks rather annoyed.  
"Torres, this is the second time that the elevator has broken with you in it!" Tabitha says. "I should be charging you for the repairs."  
"You think it's my fault this damn thing keeps breaking down?" I demand. I could say more, but then Skids is at my side, gently tugging me towards the door of the building.  
"Your car's here, so I'll drive." Skids informs me. "Where are your keys?"  
"Left pocket," I say. He fishes through it and pulls them out. We get to my car and he carefully gets me into it. Once he's in the car we drive to the hospital. We drive in silence for a while until Skids begins talking.  
"Cy, I don't want you ever beating yourself up like that again," he says. "It's not good and you get really hurt."  
"If it makes you feel better, I don't really enjoy it either." I reply.  
Skids frowns. "Why did you do it?"  
I don't really know how to answer. How do you tell someone that physical pain is easier to deal with than mental anguish?  
"Cya?" I look over to him. "Why?"  
I drop my head and confess to my knees. "It was easier for me to hurt myself like that than to let myself think about how much happier you'd be with Harley."  
"Did it hurt you that much?" Skids asks.  
"How much does it hurt knowing Harley is in love with Mik?" I return.  
"I'm sorry, Cya. I didn't know." He mumbles.  
"Did you mean what you said earlier? About loving me?" I ask tentatively, looking back up at him.  
"Yeah." He says, even quieter than before.  
"What about Harley?"  
"My love for him has never been as much as it has been for you."  
"If Harley were to become available would you drop me?" I had to ask.  
Skids looks almost appalled. "No! Of course not."  
"How can I believe you? Just telling me you love him hurt. If you actually were to be with him, it would destroy me," I tell him.  
"But you're the hetero one. Would you ever leave me for a chick?" He shoots back.  
This gives me pause. Well.no.but why should he believe me? I answer anyway though. "No. I wouldn't."  
"If you expect me to trust you, then you have to be willing to do the same for me." He says.  
"Fair enough," I admit. "So let's just trust each other."  
Skids nods as we pull into the emergency room parking lot. Skids parks and we head into the lobby. I give the nurse at the desk my name and I get stuck on a waiting list. I don't wait for too long and I'm called into a room. The doctor goes about fixing my shoulder and puts it into a sling; she gives my hand a few stitches and bandages it. When I exit, I see Skids has finished filling out my paperwork for me. We head back to my car.  
"Where to now?" Skids asks.  
"I seem to remember offering you ice cream," I smile.  
Skids' eyes light up and a smile brightens his face. "Can we still get some?"  
I laugh. "Of course."  
Skids steers us to the ice cream parlor and we head to the counter. Skids always takes forever choosing ice cream, so we're standing there for a while before he decides on a scoop of cookie dough, a scoop of maple nut, and a scoop of orange sherbet in a cup. I get Mackinac Island Fudge in a cup. We pick out a booth and sit down to eat.  
By now I'm feeling the pain in my hand again. I try to ignore it while I take a few bites of ice cream. Skids puts something onto the table in front of me. I look up at it and see he's put my pain pills by my cup. I smile my thanks to him and swallow both of them with a spoonful of ice cream.  
"Cy, if you'd like, you could come over to my place for a while so you don't have to face your mom right away," Skids offers.  
I think about this. He has a good point. Mom would totally flip out if she saw me walk in with an arm in a sling and the opposite hand wrapped up. "Sure. That would be shibby."  
Skids smiles at me. He spoons the last of his ice cream into his mouth and pushes his cup away. "That was really good. Thanks, Cya."  
"You're welcome," I respond. I look into my own cup. There's still about half of it left, but I can't seem to bring myself to finishing the rest of it. I look back up at him. "Shall we go?"  
"Sure!" He chirps. He hops up and disposes our trash. By the time he gets back from the garbage can, I've just gotten up and we move to the door.  
Our ride to the dorm passes in silence. When we arrive, we go up to his room. I earn quite a few stares from the passing students. I guess they've never seen a victim of an elevator attack before. I ignore them and just follow Skids as he leads me to his room. When we get into the room I ask if I can borrow Skids' phone to let my mom know I wasn't coming home yet.  
"Hello!"  
"Tere? Where's mom?" I ask her.  
"She's not on the phone, silly."  
"I know that. Can you get her on the phone?"  
"Hm..maybe."  
"Please?" I grind out. Why does she have to be so difficult?  
"Okay! Mom!!! Here she comes, Cya! Bye!" There's some shuffling before Mom speaks.  
"Hijo? Where are you?"  
"I'm at Skids'. Is it okay if I crash here for the night?"  
"You're going to leave me alone with your sisters for a whole night? I don't think I'll survive!" She laughs.  
"Mama." I groan. "You've dealt with them before. If I come home I'll just be in my room all night anyway."  
"Hm.you have a point. Of course you can stay at your friend's. Have fun."  
"Bye, Mama." I hang up the phone. Skids is sitting on the bed looking at me. "So.what now?"  
"Would you like to borrow some clothes to change into?" He asks.  
I look down at myself. I'm still in my dress clothes from the ceremony. And my shirt's torn at the shoulder and bloody around the cuff. "Yeah. That would be good."  
Skids gets up and roots through his closet. He turns around with a pair of flannel pajama pants and a wife-beater. "I don't know if you want to bother with a shirt or not since your arm is in that sling."  
I ponder this a moment. "Yeah, I'll take it. It shouldn't be that hard to get into."  
He hands me the clothes. I put them by my feet so that I can remove my dress clothes. God damn it. Why does undressing have to be so difficult? I struggle with random buttons for a moment before I give up for a second.  
"Want some help?" Skids asks. I look up at him. He's already changed into a pair of pajama pants and quite a threadbare undershirt. He looks gorgeous. I catch myself staring and look back down at the buttons that have defeated me.  
"Sure." I sigh.  
Skids comes up to me and reaches to undo the buttons of my shirt. He eases it gently off of my good shoulder and lets it fall for a moment while he carefully maneuvers it over and around my sling. He lets it drop to the floor. He picks up the wife-beater and pulls it over my head, easing my arm through the large armhole. He's so close right now. So close I could kiss him.  
He finishes pulling the shirt down and looks up at me without moving away. He's so close. He smells like apples and vanilla. I wonder if he tastes the same. He's so close. Neither of us moves and we stand there looking into each others' eyes for what seems to be an eternity. He's so close. I feel Skids' hands on my sides, still there from pulling the shirt on. They're moving in slow, gentle circles, sending chills up my spine. I tremble slightly and I allow myself to just feel.  
His hands move from my sides around to my back. He's even closer now. So, so close. My breath catches and my heart is pounding so hard I almost think he can hear it. My bandaged hand comes up to slowly caress his cheek. His eyes close and he leans into my touch. He's so close. I lean in closer to him. My eyes close as I tilt my head to capture his lips.  
His lips are soft and offer no resistance as I lightly press my lips to his. His hands still their movement on my back, instead he holds me close to him. I make to move away and break the kiss while I know I still can. He doesn't let me, though. One of his hands moves further up my back to tangle in my hair, which for once is not spiked like I normally wear it. His other hand rests on the small of my back, holding me still. His grasp is gentle, yet strong, like velvet-lined steel. There is no way I'm getting out of this. Not that I want to, mind you.  
He uses my hair as a leash and pulls my head back a little. When this happens my mouth opens a bit in surprise, and Skids uses this to his advantage. His fingers are massaging my scalp while he tentatively flicks his tongue between my lips. I can't help myself, and a small moan escapes my throat. Skids becomes more insistent, pressing further into my mouth. The hand that is resting on my back is in motion again, this time moving around my body and up to gently smooth over the planes of my chest. All the while he is making little contented noises in the back of his throat. Oh, Dios mio. Those little noises are making the butterflies in my stomach try to escape.  
My brain has permanently stopped thinking, but my tongue finally responds to his. I begin to gently massage his tongue with mine, and they continue to dance while the sensations overwhelm me. His scent is intoxicating and he tastes like maple nut ice cream. I want to do this forever. I hope he will let me.  
I feel myself getting light-headed, and I realize that I have forgotten to breathe. I pull away, gasping for air. When I return to my senses, I see Skids smiling at me. Returning the smile, I kiss him again, lightly and then nuzzle his neck. He sighs and drops his hand from my hair to rest on my back. He tightens his hold, and we stand like that momentarily. All too soon, he pulls away.  
"I believe we still need to finish changing your clothes," he says with a shy grin.  
I had totally forgotten about my current state of dress. "I guess so." Then I realize that he has to take off my pants. My cheeks flush at the thought of Skids removing my pants. Oh. My. God.  
"Cya? Are you okay?" Skids asks.  
I gulp. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Uh.let's get this done."  
"Okay." Skids moves his hands down to the waist of my pants and hurriedly unbuttons them. He slides the zipper down and eases them past my hips. A shiver runs through my body, but I do my best to suppress it. I step out of them and he tosses them next to my discarded shirt. He then helps me step into the pajama pants and pulls them carefully up my legs. Once up, his hands linger at my hips a moment before he drops them to his sides. Okay. I had to distract him, and myself, before I throw him to the ground and shag him senseless.  
"Hey, Skids," I say, keeping the residual tremble from my voice. "Want to watch some Buffy?"  
"That would be shibby!" Skids grins. He goes to the television and VCR and digs out a videotape. He pushes it into the tape slot and grabs the remote before going to his bed. He lays down and scoots to one side. I lay down next to him, on my right side so as not to jar my shoulder.  
As the theme music begins, Skids closes the space between us and softly rests a hand on my hip. 


End file.
